WriteIt! 2009 Winner

Jane Suthering (26/06/2009)

A new talent was acknowledged on Thursday 25 June at the prestigious Guild of Food Writers Annual Awards in London. Justin Gruss is not an experienced chef or journalist; he is a 17-year-old from Dorset, who was this year’s winner of the inaugural WriteIt! competition run by the Guild for budding young food writers.

The judges included respected food writer and critic, Charles Campion, broadcaster and restaurateur, Thomasina Miers and Alex James, formerly of Blur and now a successful cheese maker and food columnist. The judges were looking for a real passion and understanding of the chosen subject.

This is the second year that the Guild of Food Writers has run a food writing competition in addition to its annual CookIt! competition. WriteIt! was open to applicants aged between 15 and 18 and entrants were required to write a descriptive 750-word piece based on any food-related subject such as a visit to a restaurant, market or food shop, either in Britain or abroad.

If you know of any schools or children’s organisations that would be interested in taking part in next year's competition then please email their email details to the Guild of Food Writers’ administrator, Jonathan Woods,
jonathan@gfw.co.uk.